Lawmakers' legislation would bring back $90M to centers for disabled

By Rick Karlin

Published 9:54 pm, Monday, June 3, 2013

They've complained and pleaded, criticized and even wept over budgetary cuts to the state's vast network of nonprofit centers for the disabled.

On Monday, lawmakers took their quest to another level, rolling out legislation that would restore $90 million to non-profit organizations statewide.

"We have a governor who can get things done. What I'm asking him is to work together with our families and with our groups," said Long Island Democratic Assemblyman Harvey Weisenberg, whose passion on this and related issues is informed by his experience as the father of a profoundly disabled adult.

Weisenberg is sponsoring a bill that currently has more than 140 Democratic and Republican co-sponsors, an unusual but not unheard of number, calling for the money to be restored. It doesn't specify where the funds would come from, though. Brooklyn Republican Marty Golden has a similar measure in the Senate.

Lawmakers went along with the cuts when they approved the current-year budget at the end of March, noting it was part of a larger package and they didn't want to delay passage of the spending plan before the April 1 deadline.

"That vote was not the end of the conversation," Golden said in a statement.

There's no indication, though, that Gov. Andrew Cuomo will approve the restoration bill — even if it passes unanimously.

"As we've previously said, the state's Medicaid program was altered as a result of a loss of federal reimbursement funds," Cuomo spokesman Richard Azzopardi said in a prepared statement Monday.

"The governor was able to mitigate 90 percent of that cut, and we're working with providers to direct as many resources as possible toward treatment and services and away from bureaucracy and administrative pay," he continued. "That work continues, but the facts remain unchanged."

The cuts stemmed from what the federal government cites as an estimated $1.1 billion in overpayments that New York received for several years' worth of services for the disabled.

That amount was bargained down to $500 million, but it still left an unanticipated hole in the state budget. The end result was $90 million in across-the-board funding reduction to hundreds of local non-profit organizations statewide that serve the disabled. That included groups like Wildwood Programs, ARC of Rensselaer County and Saratoga Bridges.

These and other privately operated non-profit organizations actually provide much of the care — including day programs, education and housing — for disabled New Yorkers. While privately operated, they rely heavily on federal and state funding administered through the state Office for People with Developmental Disabilities.

Despite the numerous co-sponsors on the restoration bill, lawmakers on Monday weren't saying they plan to force the issue by holding up some of the governor's desired items — including a blueprint for expansion of casino gambling and the creation of tax-free business zones — in return for the money.

Weisenberg said "no" when asked if he thought the bill could possibly hold up the end of the session.

A veteran lawmaker, Weisenberg has sponsored numerous bills on disability issues. He recalled working on the disabled agenda with former Gov. Mario Cuomo.

Lately, though, Weisenberg said Andrew Cuomo's administration hasn't been responding to his push for a funding restoration, noting he hasn't talked with anyone in the administration in more than a month.

"It appears that he and his inner circle have not communicated about my request," Weisenberg said.

Other lawmakers said the issue wasn't going away, even if it doesn't get resolved by the end of the session.

"If this happens (this session), I'd be thrilled," said Democratic Assemblywoman Aileen Gunther of Forestburgh, one of more than a dozen lawmakers who joined Weisenberg at a news conference on his bill.